National Child Health Day

Did you konw that in 1928, President Calvin Coolidge introduced the first ‘National Child Health Day’ in an attempt to raise awareness of how to protect and develop children’s health? It originally was every May 1st, until 1960 when it was changed to be observed on the first Monday of October.

The main goal of this day is to focus on eating healthy and showing the importance of physical activity in a child’s life. Today, one in six children ages 2-19 in the US are considered overweight. It is extremely important for us to address the issue of increasing a child’s healthy lifestyle needs to be help thwart future asthma, diabetes and heart disease.

Topics that should be addressed on this day are prenatal care, adolescent health, the impact of child care on a child’s development, preventing injuries, eating healthy, how to make smart lifestyle choices, and the importance of immunizations.

Ebenezer Child Care Centers feels it is very important to get the word out about today, as well as the resources that are available to help educate our children. Health Resources and Services Administration has created a very informative website with a vast amount of resources available to assist families with the process of educating their children on healthy life decisions. Visit http://mchb.hrsa.gov/childhealthday/